Deep in the universe, on an interstellar space station.
After a long journey, Lin Huanyan finally lay on a comfortable bed and slept soundly. The room and the outside were completely silent, except for the black hole above that pulsed continuously. With each pulse, two boxes fell from it, scattering into the starry sky but quickly retrieved by the station’s collector before drifting away.
Soon, the universe returned to its usual stillness.
While the universe is timeless, the space station had its schedule. At 8 a.m., the alarm Lin Huanyan set the night before went off.
“Ring, ring, ring!” The piercing sound broke the silence of the room.
Lin Huanyan climbed out of bed, visibly refreshed after a good night’s sleep, her eyes sparkling with energy.
She started with her morning routine, freshened up, and then checked on the incubator housing two eggs. They were perfectly intact and showed no abnormalities.
Next, it was time to work. She needed to clock in at the lab first thing, as per her supervisor Saks’ instructions.
To her surprise, the dreaded clock-in system from Earth existed even in interstellar space. Now, she was part of the vast workforce tied to this routine.
Saks, knowing the unique conditions of the black hole research lab, was worried that their hard-won recruit might get scared off. So, his instructions were gentle and considerate—except for one point: clocking in. He emphasized that it was absolutely crucial and failing to do so could lead to serious consequences.
Lin Huanyan walked through the living room, entered her wardrobe, and changed into her lab coat. She then opened the door and headed to the front lab area.
After clocking in, she followed Saks’ instructions to locate a room labeled C01.
Upon entering, she discovered it was an interstellar delivery room. Inside were several towering shelves and a square door at waist height. Through the glass window of the door, she could see a platform outside where an intelligent delivery robot was stationed.
Walking up to one of the shelves, Lin Huanyan found about a dozen square delivery boxes of various sizes. She pulled them down one by one and unlocked them with her fingerprint.
The contents were diverse. Among them were two advanced intelligent robots—one designed for household tasks and the other for laboratory use. The lab robot was larger and more high-tech, while the household one was smaller and cuter.
Following the instruction manual, Lin Huanyan activated both robots and named them Little A and Little C. She then continued unpacking the deliveries with their help.
Grabbing the next box, she opened it to find it filled with colorful nutritional supplements in various flavors.
“Little C, take this box of supplements to the fridge in the main living room,” she instructed.
“Little C received the command and will proceed immediately,” the robot chirped.
Lin Huanyan watched as Little C extended its robotic arm, switched its expression to a smiling face, and cheerfully headed out.
This robot sure had a lively personality.
She continued unpacking more deliveries, revealing experimental equipment, unidentified fruits, a potted plant she couldn’t name, and some of her own belongings she had sent earlier.
In the end, she also received a box of medication—the same mental soothing agent prescribed by Professor James before. She glanced at the sender’s name: Professor Liu. He must have been worried she’d run out.
Lin Huanyan had always felt a bit guilty toward Professor Liu. He admired the original “her” a lot, and the original “her” deeply respected him. If the original “her” were still here, she would have been delighted to work in his lab.
Unfortunately, it was now her instead, and she planned to stay in this Black Hole Research Lab for the rest of her life.
After unpacking the parcels and seeing the empty boxes scattered on the floor, Lin Huanyan instructed, “Xiao A, take care of these boxes.”
“Got it, Master.”
After leaving the reception room, Lin Huanyan didn’t rush back to the lab but headed to the storage area outside instead.
She had arrived in a hurry yesterday and hadn’t had the chance to check whether there were any items in the storage area. This was crucial for her future research.
Everyone knew that the Black Hole Research Lab was considered useless, and its resources weren’t great for research. But still, it wouldn’t do to slack off entirely. Proper procedures were necessary.
Walking across the 300-square-meter platform left Lin Huanyan a bit tired, but she didn’t use any tools to assist her.
She realized this body was rather weak and needed some exercise, so she decided to walk this short distance herself.
Soon, she reached the storage area, where there were only three small delivery boxes on the vast platform.
The familiar yellow corrugated boxes gave Lin Huanyan a faint sense of warmth.
All along, this bizarre, tech-heavy interstellar world had given her a feeling of detachment. But at this moment, these delivery boxes provided a tiny sense of grounding.
Carrying the three small boxes, Lin Huanyan returned to the lab.
She entered the largest laboratory, her main lab as the head of the Black Hole Research Lab—exclusively hers.
As for the other labs, she had no intention of opening them.
Placing the delivery boxes on the lab bench, Lin Huanyan searched the lab for a while before finding a small curved blade that seemed suitable for opening packages.
This was something she hadn’t expected. Did the previous researchers here really use laser or ion blades to open their packages?
With the small knife in hand, Lin Huanyan was in no hurry. She sat in her chair and neatly lined up the boxes in front of her.
She then picked up the knife and began opening the packages.
Opening parcels required ceremony, and unboxing several at once had a unique thrill!
Back on Earth, Lin Huanyan loved opening packages this way—saving several to open together, not knowing exactly what was inside, for the joy of surprise, like unboxing a mystery box.
However, the old Lin Huanyan was relatively poor and didn’t order much. Even when she did, they were just everyday items that didn’t provide much excitement.
Otherwise, she had even considered becoming a professional unboxing streamer.
Now, though, she thought maybe she could look into interstellar live-streaming platforms for this purpose next time.
She picked up a box and habitually looked for the recipient’s name and address, intending to scribble them out.
After a moment, she realized: Wait, this isn’t my package, and this isn’t Earth—no need to worry about that.
She found the tape seams and carefully slid the knife across the middle, then along both sides. The box opened easily.
Inside was a set of five mystery boxes.
Wow, a box within a box?
Lin Huanyan picked up one of the mystery boxes and checked the details on the side.
It was a Tom and Jerry mystery box set—five figures in total, one of which was a rare hidden edition.
She randomly selected one, opened it, and took out the figure inside—a Jerry Mouse sleeping on a cloud. She compared it to the guide.
Not the first design, nor the second… none of them matched. Wait, there was still the hidden edition. It matched!
Lin Huanyan hadn’t expected to be so lucky, unboxing the rare hidden figure right away.
Delighted, she placed the sleeping Jerry figure on the desk and continued unboxing.
A Jerry Mouse sleeping on a moon, a Tom Cat resting on a pillow, a Jerry Mouse snoozing on a star, and a Tom Cat sprawled with its butt up in the air.
Five boxes, each with a unique design. She managed to complete the entire set, just like that.
Lin Huanyan couldn’t decide whether to call the original owner of these packages extremely lucky or unlucky.
Unlucky enough for their packages to end up lost in interstellar space, but lucky enough to have completed the set—including the hidden figure—in one go.
Looking at the adorable Jerry and Tom figures, Lin Huanyan lined them up neatly on her desk.
Then she opened her lab notebook and jotted down:
“A set of uniquely designed toy figurines, five in total. Analysis suggests they are collectible items obtained through chance. The ultimate goal appears to be acquiring all available designs. The original owner of this set was exceptionally lucky to have completed the collection, including the rare hidden figure. However, they were unfortunate enough to lose their package to interstellar space. Let us mourn their loss.”
With three quick swipes, Lin Huanyan opened the second box.
Inside was a pair of sunglasses. Lin Huanyan tried them on and found they looked surprisingly good.
She added to her notes:
“An object shaped like glasses, entirely black. It appears to have no special functions, possibly used for blocking light or as a fashion accessory.”
Lin Huanyan never thought she would one day face such a peculiar challenge.
Clearly, these were all objects she recognized, but now she had to approach them like an archaeologist examining history—making guesses, describing them, and even flipping through prior records to organize her observations. It was exhausting.
Thankfully, she was down to the last item. Picking up the small knife, Lin Huanyan swiftly sliced through the package with three clean cuts.
Opening the box, she discovered yet another box inside.
This time, it was a luxurious-looking jewelry box with a leather exterior, gold detailing, and a delicate latch.
Lin Huanyan unlatched the clasp and opened it, only to be momentarily dazzled. Inside, nestled against a layer of magenta velvet, was a box brimming with tiny golden beads.
Yes, the box was completely filled to the brim, so much so that the beads almost spilled out the moment she opened it.
Sending such valuable items through interstellar shipping—this person, whether a man or a woman, was truly bold! Weren’t they afraid of losing it?
Well, it had been lost. Now, this box of gold beads was adrift in the vast universe. Hopefully, the sender would learn a lesson from this experience.
In her experiment log, Lin Huanyan noted:
“An item with an exterior of fine craftsmanship, featuring a leather surface and some kind of fabric lining. It contains near-spherical particles with a diameter of 5mm, showing a metallic sheen. The material analysis machine failed to identify the metal. Judging by the packaging, this appears to be a valuable object.”
With a snap, she closed the logbook and stretched lazily.
There was no need for speculation or discussions with others about what the box might contain. One look was enough for her to know. In fact, if it weren’t for the need for experimental evidence, she wouldn’t have even bothered using the analysis machine.
Lin Huanyan once again marveled at how well-suited she was for this job. This was, without a doubt, the perfect role for her in the entire galaxy!
Discord
@dogfoodplease or @dogfoodplease#8837translation works:
ARTTEDSBGT (After Rebirth The True Eldest Daughter Starts Brewing Green Tea):
main story – completed translating
extras/side stories – i still dont have money and account to access this
ATISIUP:
ongoing
